Home Cottage Farm is a lovely family-run “pick your own” farm on Bangors Road South in Iver. It’s open in September and October when you can pick apples, raspberries, blackberries and pears. We went last week as I thought it would be a lovely way to start the autumn season.
Details
Location: Home Cottage Farm, Bangors Road South, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire SL0 0BB
Opening hours: September – October
Tues 2pm – 5pm
Thurs 2pm – 5pm
Saturdays 11am – 5pm
Public Transport: Number 3 bus from Uxbridge/Slough (nearest stop is at Flowerland Garden Centre and then it’s a 10 minute walk from there)
Parking: Free Car park on site
Cost: Free to enter, you pay for the fruit you pick
Prices are: Apples £1.95/kg, Raspberries & Blackberries £7.95/kg
Book a slot in advance: No you can just turn up
Food: No, but the cafe at Flowerland Garden Centre is along the same road
Toilets: No, nearest loos are at Flowerland
Pushchair-friendly: Yes
The Farm
To get to the farm you have to drive down a single track off Bangors Road South (the farm is signposted). Then you will see “Home Cottage” and there is a large grass car park just behind it.
There were a few other families and we saw they had brought their own baskets for picking the apples (note to self for next time!) We brought a carrier bag. Opposite the car park are pear trees, and in front is a path to the main PYO area. There was a little marquee set up with a table and till where people were paying for what they had picked.
We picked up a little blue punnet from the lady (for picking raspberries). She wisely advised us to pick raspberries last, as with all the movement in the punnet from walking around, they might get squished. Top tip! So we did apples first. Now, I did not realise how many types of apple there were. You can see the full list of what’s available on homecottagefarm.co.uk.
Apple Picking
When we walked into the apple tree section, it was absolutely magical. The sun had miraculously come out for the hour we were there, and we saw rows upon rows of cute little apple trees. They were low, so the children could reach them! And the apples were so red, it was such a beautiful sight – a real countryside scene.
If you are going to go apple picking, they say to twist from the tree and only pick what you are going to buy – don’t drop them on to the grass and leave to rot. The children were very good, looking carefully at which apples they wanted before they picked them.
We had collected Spartan Apples and Cox Apples (when we got home and tried the Spartan ones, omg they tasted AMAZING and they are so white and juicy inside – wow!). After we had gathered a bag of apples, we just had to take an autumn themed photo. I placed our picnic mat infront of this tree and laid out our apples. If I had planned ahead, I would have bought a wicker basket, but I used the blue punnet for the photo. We didn’t actually have a picnic as that is not allowed at PYO farms – this was just for the photo which only took about 5 minutes of our time.
Usually I feel so down when it’s the end of summer, but by doing this activity, it really made autumn feel exciting. And I can’t believe this farm is so close by to both Slough and Uxbridge, which are very urban towns, and yet here it feels very rural.
Raspberry, Blackberry & Pear Picking
There is a smaller area infront of the apple trees for blackberry and raspberry picking. We wanted raspberries for our crumble, so our blue punnet came into use.
And at the front of the farm opposite the car park are pear trees, though we may have been too late in the season as there were only a few pears left.
Farm Shop
The farm shop is a little marquee, surrounded by ramshackle wooden outbuildings. Very rustic and homely! They sell apple juice bottles, made from the apples they grow, and quince jam. We paid just over £5 for our bag of apples and punnet of raspberries. So it wasn’t too expensive.
Cafe (at nearby Flowerland)
There is no cafe or loos on site at Home Cottage Farm, but a minute’s drive away is Flowerland Garden Centre on Norwood Lane (SL0 0EW), which has a lovely cafe and free parking. It’s a bit pricey but it’s the nearest one, and you can peruse all the interesting shops afterwards. Also when we visited, they served chips in a parrot paper cup!
That evening my mum made an apple and raspberry crumble and it tasted amazing. There is something special about eating food made from fruit you just picked that day. So warm and comforting!
If you are after an autumnal family activity, or indeed something to do with your friends (max group of 5) or your other half, I can totally recommend apple-picking!
Let me know if you visit, I would love to know what you thought of it.
Sabrina x
